Armor-piercing and incendiary shell



Aug. 21, 1951 w. WEISS 2,564,870

ARMOR PIERCI'NG AND INCENDIARY SHELL Filed July 29, 1947 INVENTOR W/L'L/ 14 5/55,

ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 21 1951 ARMOR-PIERCIN G AND INCENDIARY SHELL Willi Weiss, Vernier, near Geneva, Switzerland, :assignor to Society Brevets Aero-Mecanlques S. A., Geneva, Switzerland, a society of Swltzerland Application July 29, 1947, Serial No. 764,476 In Luxemburg April 2, 1947 3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to armour piercing and incendiary shells both of small caliber (in particular of a caliber ranging from 15 mm. to 50 mm.) and of large caliber (75, 105 and 150 mm., for instance).

Its chief object is to provide a projectile of this kind which is better adapted to meet the requirements of practice than those made up to this time.

According to a characteristic feature of my invention the projectile includes at least two shell elements, containing each a charge, disposed one behind the other in tandem-like fashion, the front element including an explosive charge, whereas at least one of the elements includes an incendiary charge, the means for firing said explosive charge being operative in response to impact of said front element on an obstacle whereas the charge in the rear element is arranged to be fired only in response to direct impact of said rear element on an obstacle.

Preferably, the rear element is given an armour piercing power higher than that of the front element.

A preferred embodiment of my invention will be hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawing, given merely by way of example and in which the only figure shows, in elevation with parts in section and parts out 01f, a small caliber armour piercing and incendiary shell made according to the invention.

This projectile is essentially constituted by the combination of at least two shell elements I and 2 disposed in tandem-like fashion and at least one of which includes an incendiary charge, the front element I including, anyway, an explosive charge 3 capable of ensuring its destruction when the projectile has passed through a first wall, whereby the rear element 2, preferably made like an armour piercing shell, can then, like an independent projectile, strike a second wall located behind the preceding one, the charge in said rear element being ignited only in response to this second impact.

It will thus be possible, according as an incendiary charge is placed either only in the front element I, or only in the rear element, or again in both of these elements, to obtain an incendiary effect either in the space between the first and second walls struck by the projectile, or in the space located behind this second wall, or, finally, in the third case, in both of these two spaces successively.

It should be noted that it may be advantageous, in some cases, to provide the rear element 2, in

addition with an incendiary charge, with an explosive charge in order to ensure its thorough destruction and the dispersion of its splinters behind the last plate that is pierced.

The characteristics (shape, mass, constitutive metal, etc.) that determine the respective perforating powers of the two shell elements for a given muzzle velocity, are chosen at will, but preferably these perforating powers should be greater for the rear element than for the front one, whereby the projectile can pass through walls of increasing resistances, for instance, in the case of a double projectile, first through a mere metal sheet, then through a relatively thick armour plate located behind said metal sheet.

For this purpose and by way of example, front element l is constituted by an ogive-shaped cap secured on the front part of the rear element 2, said cap, which is preferably made of steel, carrying at the front a nose 4 in which is housed a priming pin 5 capable of producing, or at least of facilitating, upon the first impact, the firing of a relay charge 6 which then ensures ignition of the explosive charge 3 and of the incendiary charge 1, preferably located behind the preceding one.

The rear element, preferably of hard metaLsuch as hardened steel, has a thick point at the front and, behind this point, a shoulder 8 against which the rear edge of cap I can be applied, a cavity being provided in the body of said core to contain the incendiary charge 9, and also possibly an explosive charge, said recess being temporarily kept closed by a rear plug [0.

The operation of such a shell takes place in two steps corresponding respectively, the first one, which follows the piercing of a relatively thin sheet, to the destruction of cap land the production of an incendiary effect behind said sheet, and, the second one, which follows the piercing, by rear element 2, of an armour plate located beyond said plate, to the destruction of said rear element with an incendiary efiect behind said armour plate.

In a general manner, while I have, in the above description,disclosed whatIdeem to be a practical and eflicient embodiment of the present invention, it should be well understood that I do not wish to be limited thereto as there might be changes made therein without departing from the principle of the invention as comprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An armor piercing and incendiary shell primarily for use against military targets or the like having a relatively low resistant first wall or the like spaced from a second wall or the like having resistance greater than the first wall, said walls or the like being located in independent spaced relationship with each other, said shell comprising at least two'elements assembled one behind the other in tandem-like fashion with the rear portion of the front shell element contiguous with the front portion of the rear shell element, a charge in each of said elements, said charge being explosive in the front shell element and partly incendiary in at least one of said two elements, means for firing said explosive charge in the front shell element in response to impact of said shell on said first wall, said rear shell element being of an armor-piercing nature and of a higher armor-piercing power than said front shell element, said rear shell element and its charge being sufficiently insensitive to shock so as tosurvive the first impact of said shell upon said first wall, said rear shell element being constituted to survive the explosion occurring upon the first impact and to preclude sympathetic detonation under the effect of that explosion, and the charge in said rear shell element being fired only as the result of direct impact of said rear shell element upon said second wall.

2. A shell according to claim 1, in which the incendiary charge is contained in the front shell 

